Belarusian journalist Henadz Mazheyka sentenced to 3 years in prison
Paris, March 23, 2023—In response to multiple news reports that a Belarusian court sentenced journalist Henadz Mazheyka to three years in prison on Thursday, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement: “The sentencing of Belarusian journalist Henadz Mazheyka, simply for his journalistic work, shows once again how authorities have brazenly pursued trumped-up criminal…
Azerbaijani photojournalist Vali Shukurzade sentenced to 30 days in jail
Stockholm, February 15, 2023 – Azerbaijani authorities should release photojournalist Vali Shukurzade and ensure that members of the press do not face trumped-up charges in retaliation for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday. On the evening of February 4, in the Yasamal district of Baku, the capital, police detained Shukurzade, a freelance…
CPJ joins calls for credible investigation into death of Rwandan journalist John Williams Ntwali
CPJ joined about 100 other human rights and press freedom organizations Tuesday in a joint statement calling on the Rwandan government to ensure an “independent, impartial, and effective investigation” into the death of journalist John Williams Ntwali. Authorities said that Ntwali died on January 18 in a traffic accident in the capital city of Kigali….
Opinion: Pompeo’s attack on Khashoggi’s reputation is a gift to enemies of press freedom
In the week that CPJ reported a near-50% surge in the killings of journalists worldwide, the former head of the CIA and the U.S. State Department dismissed the reaction to one of the most brazen murders of journalists in the past half century as “faux outrage…fueled by the media.” In his memoir “Never Give an…
Legal Resources for Journalists
Around the world, journalists and independent media outlets are facing an alarming increase in legal threats. From claims of criminal defamation and strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), to trumped-up charges intended to bankrupt newsrooms into silence, the legal landscape for journalists is both complicated and rapidly evolving. CPJ has assembled a series of resources…
‘Murder the media’: What the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol meant for US journalists
On January 6, 2021, supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in a violent attempt to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s win in the 2020 presidential election. A bipartisan Senate report found that at least seven people ultimately died as a result of the attack and scores were injured. The U.S. Press…
At least 15 journalists on Turkish list of wanted terrorists
On December 30, exiled Turkish journalist Can Dündar revealed that he had been added to the so-called terrorist “gray list,” a database published by the Turkish Interior Ministry that identifies alleged terrorists and offers rewards for their capture. Dündar, who reported on alleged weapon smuggling from Turkey to Syria in 2014, received CPJ’s 2016 International…
Year in review: The most-read press freedom stories of 2022
In 2022, press freedom was under near constant attack. CPJ recorded the highest number of journalists imprisoned globally for their work in 30 years, with 363 imprisoned as of December 1, 2022. Iranian authorities’ arrests of dozens of journalists amid a brutal crackdown on anti-state protests made it the world’s worst jailer of the press….
CPJ condemns ‘harsh’ Jimmy Lai jail sentence in Hong Kong fraud case
Taipei, December 10, 2022 – In response to news reports that a Hong Kong court on Saturday sentenced Jimmy Lai, founder of the Next Digital media company and the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, to five years and nine months imprisonment on fraud charges, the Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the sentencing and called for Lai’s…